Ablaze: The Crimson Tower
by A-ccentric
Summary: Ayano is kidnapped by an unknown group, will Kazuma be determined to find her? And what's Jugo hiding? Is there something about Ayano that only he knows? The firesome tale unravels. -Ayano X Kazuma-
1. Missing

**Hey guys. Wow, this is weird. I'm writing a fanfiction which isn't about Fairy Tail. :O. To be honest, this was a fanfiction I wrote a while ago, I thought it deserved to be up on the web like the rest of them, no prejudice or anything. Anyway, enjoy...**

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Ablaze: The Crimson Tower

Chapter 1: Missing

"Damn that Kazuma!" Ayano growled. Fists tightening, teeth clenched, she was furious. Once again, Kazuma just sat and watched as she dealt with the massive Yomas. Yes, Yomas. Two strong Yomas. Just sat chilling in a large tree next to the parking lot, he insisted he couldn't help.

Said Yomas gave been creating weird occurrences in the car parks of the neighbourhood. Starting with winding down windows and scrambling radios, and now, to cars randomly losing control or spontaneous combustion. Yoma like them don't belong here and it was Ayano and Kazuma's job to dispose of such Yoma.

After a good few hours of battle the Yoma, they defeated it. Of course, it would have been a lot quicker if that stupid wind user had helped.

Ayano was getting even more irritated the more she thought about it. Even thought it happen yesterday, that idiot had a way of keeping her mad for days. Today was no different.

Cursing and mumbling to herself, the red-head marched home. It was late and the sun had been gone for a while now. Dark skies were cast over the inner city, leaving only small specks of light to twinkle in the night and the bright orb that hovered proudly above all, illuminating the city in a cloak of white, incandescent light. The monotone hums of the few cars passing through the orange lamp-lit streets fell into the background of the sleeping side of the city life.

Jugo was so going to serious punished he for being late. Nanase insisted on going to karaoke, she couldn't resist. The only problem was that it was four hours past her curfew. Ayano sped through the streets, dashing to get home for a well-earned punishment. There was no getting out of this one. It would still take her another twenty minutes to get back to the Kannagi house.

This was just adding fuel to Ayano's already over anxious fire burning inside er. It was almost killing her. The wait before she gets to see that jerk, ready to pull out Enriha on him without hesitation, was unbearable. Oh that pervert was so in for it!

Ayano caught the sound of footsteps jogging behind her. A slow, steady paced jog that matched her own, kick-heeled power walk. Stalkers; Just what she needed right now. Actually, it was! This was the perfect opportunity to help relieve her of some of her problems. Jugo would have his excuse for her being late; being stalked seemed legitimate enough. All she needed to was picture Kazuma's stupid face on theirs and beat them up. Then she would hand them over to the police and be on her way. Simple.

Up ahead, the girl caught sight of an empty alleyway. As she drew close enough to the entrance, she swiftly slipped between the gap of the two buildings. It was murky, dark and smelled like dead things. Not the best place Ayano wanted to be, but at the time she wasn't really in the mood to be picky, as long as she got to hit some things. "Enriha, come forth!" Ayano whispered, summoning the sacred sword from its domain. Appearing out of a golden flame, the sword dropped gently into Ayano's palms. Sliding her palm up to the hilt, she leant back against the alley wall, prepared for ambush. A cold sensation raced down her spine and the icy temperature of the wall leaked through her white, school blouse. Ayano shivered, feeling it cause adrenalin to rise in her blood. Ayano began hoping that the perverts would put up a good fight, at least long enough to quell some of her frustrations.

A rattling sound rang through the space of the empty alleyway catching Ayano's down to her feet, she saw a small, grey canister roll up to her feet. Coming to a halt by her foot, it weakly bounced back from her black, simple shoes. "What the-?" Ayano began.

Suddenly, the can exploded. Grey, foggy gas erupted out of the flying pieces of scrap metal, warping the entire alley in an instant. In surprise, Ayano instinctively let go of Enriha, wrapping her hands over her hands and nose. It was too late, Ayano had already inhaled some of the thick cloud, shrouding round her. Leaving a heavy taste of rusted iron in her mouth, it pushed its way down into her throat like solid air. With each second, her lungs felt like they were getting heavier, as if they were weighed down by liquid gold. Buckling under the tremendous weight in her chest, her legs collapsed underneath her, sending her pummelling to the floor. Ayano's body collided against the ice, cobble stone floor, still damp against her skin. The icy touch from beneath her skated over her building body temperature, radiating through her in burning waves of agony. Ayano's hands clutched her chest as she gasped for air, barely able to take a single breath. Strong dizziness swept over her body, weakening her muscles and causing the world around her to distort in rippling lines. A darkness offering relief called to her, but Ayano ignored it, trying her best to remain concious.

The echoing chime of feet pounding down on the floor grew louder as it closed in on her. Through her failing vision, she watched the big, black boots come to a stop beside her. A shadow swooped down, and lifted her up off the floor, floating in the air. As her hearing began to deafen, the faint sounds of conversation blurred out into her silent world. Jugo was so going to punish her for not coming back. Ren would probably be worrying out of his mind as he tended to do. And Kazuma-...Kazuma. Would he come save her? "Kazuma..." she mumbled through the weak movement of her dry lips. Unable to hold on any longer, Ayano finally succumbed to the powerful call of the undying slumber. The world went dark.

Air currents slowly dropped down onto the well polished porch of the big Kannagi house; home of the fire users. Kazuma stepped gently onto solid ground without as much as a whisper. It was time to pick that hot head up for work. Teasing Ayano was one of Kazuma's favourite things to do. Kazuma was completely aware of the fact that she would still be mad at him for the other day, but he didn't care. It was even more to torment an angry Ayano, like poking an already awoken bear with an even bigger stick. He had let her take on the two Yomas that they were tasked to get rid of all by herself. It was dangerous, but Kazuma just loved to watch her struggled when she fought. The serious look on her face was just so interesting.

Sliding open the door to Jugo's room, Kazuma stepped in, thinking he was about to be attacked by an aggressive Kannagi girl. He wasn't. Instead, he was surprised to find Ayano absent. She never missed the opportunity to scold him for being late. However, she was nowhere to be seen.

"Hello Kazuma." Jugo greeted him, as kind and as formal as ever. Kazuma nodded a greeting back and took a seat next to his blonde, kid brother. A weary, anxious look was troubling his normal bubbly, cheerful little brother. Something was troubling him.

"Kazuma! Aya-" Ren burst. Quickly, Jugo defused him with a raised hand a stern glared. Ren's frantic eyes flickered between the head and the wind user before he hesitantly, hung his head, admitting defeat. Now Kazuma was interested, and not in a good way. something was defiantly up.

"What is it?" Kazuma asked in his soft, husky voice, sounding indifferent as he always does. Jugo's face softened as he lowered his hard gaze, realising a long, deep sigh. Then his gaze turned to Kazuma, filled with a hidden pain behind his gentle eyes.

"Ayano didn't come home last night." Jugo almost muttered, barely hanging on to his authoritative monotone he usually used.

"What?" Kazuma exclaimed, taken by complete surprise. Kazuma quickly regathered himself. "So the hot-head's gone walk about." The wind user indifferently concluded.

"For what it seems, yes. Her friend said she left the karaoke bar at 10 last night." Jugo added, returning himself to his usual, business self.

"That's a good four hours after her curfew." Kazuma said, leaning backwards, supporting himself on his palms spread out behind him.

"Yes it is. However, it seems we do not need to worry yet. It is not the first time she has failed to return back at night." Jugo's stern voice took a darkened edge to it, like a very serious father. It almost made Kazuma laugh. Obviously he didn't.

"But she has never gone without telling anyone before!" Ren interjected. As always, the kid was worried about his cousin. Kazuma understood they were close and he knew how much Ren liked to worry, so the wind user sighed and turned to face the blonde boy. Ren sat in traditional Japanese style. Tears were welled in his eyes, though he refused to let them fall and his fists were balled in frustration on his lap.

"Come on, Ren. There's no need to get so worked up." For a moment, Ren seemed like he was about to say something back, but instead he closed his mouth and waited for the wind user to carry on. "It's Ayano were talking about remember, she'll be fine." Kazuma gave Ren a gentle pat on the shoulder and felt all the tension ease out of it. Ren's hands relaxed on his lap as the boy let out a gentle sigh. Relief flooded over his face and it seemed the boy understood what he meant.

Ayano was someone no-one had to worry about. It#s the people who try to hurt her the impulsive girl that they should be worried about. The wind user caught himself laughing at the thought. In reassuring Ren, he seemed to have reassured himself, releasing a knot inside his stomach that he didn't even realise was there until now.

"Well, I'll take today's jobs then, you can call me when you find Ayano." Kazuma offered as he stood up and left, waving a subtle goodbye to his brother. Jugo's face still looked faintly twisted with worry. It seemed Kazuma wasn't able to reassure the family head as he did with himself and Ren. Somehow, he looked even more worried that before. Kazuma dismissed it, shut the door and left, feeling a little disappointed about his only-business day. No teasing Ayano today.

Ice cold water gushed over her face and body, sending a surge of frost to wake Ayano up with a start. Ayano flinched, eyes bursting open, shoving her body to sit. She almost toppled straight back over again as a dizziness swept over her but it quickly subsided as she regained her balance. Aside from the pounding headache, blurred vision and fuzzy hearing, she was fine.

"Wakey, Wakey." A rough, southern-rich voice laughed. Ayano's eyes set finally on her surroundings after she finished with her self-evaluation. Various skin-coloured blurs moved around in front of her, some closer than others. As her vision refocused, she was able to see that the blurs were actually men. Lots and lots of men. Great. There were about 30 men gathered together; laughing, eating, drinking. Long, wooden tables spread out in set rows, spread evenly around the small dim-lit room. Dark stone walls surround them, hanging amber, burning torches and random wall ornaments; some paintings, swords and clocks. A honey-varnished bar sat on the furthest end away from her, polished till it shone. Presumably, that was done by the large, muscled guy with tattoo sleeves and a thin black moustache that curled at the edges. It somehow made him look intimidating, especially with his bald head that sparkled even more than the bar. Several random bottles filled with various coloured liquids decorated the shelves behind it, labelled with different names and logos. It took only a second for her to recognise what they were; alcohol. She had seen Kazuma drink a variety of bottles of the stuff when she made him take her out to dinner. Ayano wasn't too keen on the stuff, it always left her with a bad after taste. Kazuma just said she needed an _'acquired taste',_ whatever the hell that meant. Somehow the old-theme pub cellar seemed like the typical kind of place you would find that wind jerk. Ayano wasn't sure if that made her relieved or concerned?

Several men, maybe ten, gathered around her in a little semi-circle like she was some kind of interesting thing. Looking about, there weren't any women in the bar, which was probably made her an interesting thing. She wasn't surprised no women came down here, it seemed more like a wolf's den full of rabid mutts than an actual bar, though it had a little -only a little- bit of class. "Hey babe, fancy a drink?" No. She didn't. Obviously, the man was drunk. His dark black suit and crystal blue, fabric belt stunk of beer. Drink spilled out the edge of his mug as his body swayed and stumbled. Several others who wore exactly the same outfit were cheering him on from behind. Ayano couldn't care less what they were up to, she had been stalked, knocked out and rudely kidnapped, and she wasn't planning on tolerating being pestered. Without hesitation, Ayano's fist tightened and launched straight towards the pathetic man's face, covered in long, greasy black hair.

To Ayano's surprise, her hand jerked backwards, catching her off guard. Her body lunged backwards at the force, crashing straight into the stone wall behind her. Pushing back onto her knees, she realised. Cold, black iron cuffs tightly clasped around her wrists and ankles. Chains limply dangled from the cuffs, across the floor and to were bolted to the ground. The chains jingled and rang, lashing against the floor as Ayano tried to struggle free. The chains wouldn't budge. A light bulb lit up in Ayano's head. She hated chains, but luckily for her, she had something that could cut through any kind of metal. Chains were a pathetic accuse to hold the next Kannagi head. "Enriha, Come forth!" The girl yelled, ready to summon Enriha and break the chains with ease.

Well, that should of happen, except, nothing did. Ayano stared blankly at her empty hands. That hasn't happen before. "Enriha, come forth!" She yelled again. Nothing. No Enriha.

The men in black burst into laugher, crippling over in a fit of agony and dropping to the floor like high flies. The first man with the long black hair reproached the red head girl, stumbling over his feet. Confusion completely covered her face as she stared in utter dismay and shock at her empty hands, turning them over and over, hoping to understand. "Ye aint breakin' those chains." his deep voice dropped into a dark, husky whisper.

"And why the hell not?" Ayano growled, her eyes glaring at him with pure hatred, and absolutely too furious to care. It was the only emotion that reacted to her fear and boy did she like it in these situations. It was better to be angry at her current moment than anything else. The man's thick lips twisted into a smile, pulling up further at one corner than the other and bearing his too white and perfect teeth.

"These..." His foot looped around the chains and jerked it forward, pulling Ayano onto her hands and knees with a chuckle. "Are magic-blocking chains, developed by the head himself. No super sword for you little Kannagi." Ayano hissed, tugging the chain and snapping them out from under his scuffed, black boots. The man shrugged with one shoulder like he was too lazy to do both as he straightened himself watching Ayano's glare that gave him a warning about her fist that she was tempted to throw right at him. She didn't. Luckily, he was still too far out of her reach. His amused smile turned sinister and became even creepier than before. "But you could always do something super for me." He winked, simultaneously raising a thick, bushy eyebrow as his face leaned closer to hers.

"You sure you want this?" Ayano teased, pushing her arms together and batting her eyelids. Drool was practically dripping from his mouth as his eyes turned hungry like a starved dog, ready to eat whatever moved.

"Oh yeah, baby!" the man howled, drawing even closer.

"Come a little closer." Ayano huskily whispered, feeling as uncomfortable as a rat in a cage. Luckily, she had met enough of Kazuma's lady friends, in order to pull her charade off. It still sent shivers down her spines and creeped her the heck out. Even so, the man was fooled, and he came just within range. 'Boys' Ayano thought to herself with dissatisfaction as a smile pulled on her lips.

In a split second, Ayano leapt forward, crashing her temple straight into his. With a loud thump of two heads colliding, the man was sent staggering backwards. Silence completely took over the room as he stumbled backwards, crashing into a collection of stools and dropping to the floor. Knocked out completely. Red blood spilled over his face from the nasty gash cross his thick, furred brow line. At least it improved his looks by a little bit. A steady trickle of blood leaked down the side of her own face from a similar cut coming from her hair line. Ignoring the pain, she felt a sense of accomplishment flutter in her stomach, pulling a small smile on her lips. That released some of her pent up stress, two birds, one stone. Sudden masses of laughter erupted through the atmosphere from every end of the dingy pub. Every man were barking with laughter, thoroughly amused.

"We've got a feisty one here!" One man whistled, making even more laughter explode across the room. Despite the joyful laughter and praise, Ayano still felt irritated. She didn't want to be here. Yet, she could do nothing about it. No magic and no Enriha left her completely vulnerable. Of course she still had great hand-to-hand combat skills but with such strong chains, she wasn't going to break out of them with pure force. No magic, no freedom. Great. What the was she going to do now?

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**Uh Oh! Ayano's trapped and bound by anti-magic chains and Kazuma's still unaware she's been taken. What will happen now? **

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** Hey guys, I started watching one piece recently, I was wondering if any of you knew any good Websites that will let me watch One piece on my phone? P.M me if you know. :) **

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**If you liked Ablaze: The Crimson Tower try checking out some of my other stories.**

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**-A-ccentric**


	2. Believe

Ablaze: The Crimson Tower

Chapter 2: Believe

Kazuma had absolutely no fun yesterday. Taking the jobs felt like a relief without Ayano. Quick and simple. get the work over and done with. Well, that was what the wind mage welcomed positively. He was able to take care of the troublesome Yomas with ease. That's what he thought he wanted. Except, it wasn't. Truthfully, it felt lonely and utterly boring. Without the anger-driven girl around to tease, the ex-Kannagi felt no fun in destroying things. It looked bland without a few good flames and rage creams. In all honesty, Kazuma missed her. He still hadn't receive a call from Jugo about Ayano. But the time for work came around again and the wind user left for the Kannagi house, hoping to find the girl all fired up and ready for work.

With the winds calmly landing him onto the Kannagi property, Kazuma arrived on time for once. Maybe he was a little too eager for work. Not as many people roamed through the house and gardens as several usually did. Those who did ran straight past the contractor, holding super serious and worried expressions. Something seemed off. Kazuma understood that the Kinngai's were naturally serious people, but today just seemed excessive.

Just like the day before, Kazuma entered into Jugo's room. Once again, there was no Ayano. Kazuma felt something oddly unfamiliar, pang in his chest. He was hoping, even just a little bit, that she would be there, Enriha at ready and about to swing for his head, knowing full well he'd dodge. But she wasn't there. And that meant no fun. Bored already delved into his body, feeling lethargic and a tiny bit lazy.

Ren was sat quietly with his head hanging low, letting blonde locks covered his eyes. Clenched fists pushed down hard on his lap, twisting the fabric of his jeans between his fingers. Jugo quietly sat on the cushion in front of the hanging Kannagi's banner of fire, with a stone-hard and super serious look on his face. And one other, unexpected guest sat watching the wind mage with pity. Kirika. Strange...

There were only three people waiting for him in that room. Three. The only thing that was irritating Kazuma -except the missing fire girl- was a feeling. A feeling he wasn't able to shake since he heard Ayano was missing yesterday. His feet had been frozen to the floor for a long, long moment, the feeling churning inside his stomach. It was dread. Something wasn't right and he knew it. He just knew it. He really, really wished he didn't.

After realising it wasn't going to subside, he finally managed to move his feet, that felt like a thousand tonnes, at a shuffle across the floor to a seat besides his little, anxious brother. Kazuma tried to hide the ache that screamed from his muscles as he tried to sit, but the best result he got was stiff and jerky movements as sat slowly. Everything inside of him was screaming to go, to run, to get out of there. And he knew why.

"Ayano has been Kidnapped." Jugo's voice whispered in the deadly, thick atmosphere. Four simple words. With a painful thump, Kazuma felt his heart hit the bottom of his chest. It felt like it weighed a thousand tonnes, crushing his lungs, making breathing a difficult task. The worry he felt consumed every inch of him, bubbling to boiling point. A thousand needles were piercing him in every bit of his skin as a burning icy shiver ran through his veins. Kazuma dropped his head, a hand clutching to his chest in agony. He felt like he needed to throw up. But he didn't. Instead, he took a long, deep and shaking breath, turned his head up and dropped his hand. Cold, empty eyes looked up in complete control.

Ren, who was his brother intensely, felt his heart ache seeing Kazuma act indifferently to the news. Disappointment was obvious across his face. Soft, sorrowful tears rolled down the young boy's face, trickling off his chin, landing on the numb, white knuckles of his fists. Ren had always held Ayano dear to him, and this felt like absolute agony. To him, Ayano was more like a big sister than just a cousin.

The logics of the girl's capture seemed serial to Kazuma. Like she, of all people, would be successfully kidnapped, was just impossible. It must have been some kind of misunderstanding, prank, trick, anything, anything but the truth. Ayano would be absolutely fine and decided to mess with him. She's probably trying to take revenge for the Yoma incident the other day. It's all just a joke. It had to be. Except, it wasn't.

Kirkia went on further to explain everything they knew about Ayano's capture. Which was very little, apparently. Ayano had caught on early that she was being followed, jumped into an alleyway and summon Enriha, ready to ambush them. She would burn them to a crisp if she had gotten a chance. The word 'complications' had struck hard. Complications always meant bad, really bad. When it came to that impulsive, hot-headed girl, bad could only mean worst.

Finally, After Kirika brought out the small video player, it all began to sink in.

Through the fuzzy images of the camera from a shop across the street, they could see everything. The stalkers, who had covered their faces with typical ski-mask, the ambush, the gas and the girl being lifted into the back of a black van with missing number plates. But something, something about all of it wasn't sitting right with Kazuma. It all seemed too easy. "Go back." The wind mage commanded. Going back a few minutes, back to when the gas first appeared, Kazuma found what he was looking for. At first, Kazuma just thought it was the camera, but he realised it wasn't.

"What is it?" Jugo asked, leaning to try and see what Kazuma had noticed.

"Enriha." Kazuma replied, eyes still transfixed intensely on the screen, repeating the few seconds that held his evidence, again and again to make sure. After, he showed and explained what the clip held to those around him. "Something's wrong with Enriha."

"I don't understand." Jugo replied, still trying to grasp what Kazuma was implying. Kazuma let out a frustrated sigh and quickly explained it simply.

"When Ayano normally holds Enriha and she feels threatened, Enriha should burst into flames. It always happens. It didn't this time. As soon as the can exploded, Enriha should have set alight. You can see the surprise on Ayano's face...and the fear..." Kazuma's voice softened. "Something's affected Enriha! Ayano can't use it!"

"What- What does that mean?" Ren gasped, feeling dread piling up in his stomach like a thousand weights.

"Ayano's in deep trouble."

Ayano was bored. Ayano laid her warm skin against the cool tiles. For some strange reason, no matter how hot it got inside, which it did when it was packed with sweaty men at happy hour, the slabs of stone always remained ice cold. Being chained to a wall wasn't really the highlight of the day. Actually, today's interesting event was the extremely bad jokes told by the annoying drunks. Since yesterday's incident with all the shouting, head butting, knocking out, etcetera, no one had dared to come into striking range. It was kind of unfortunate since the girl had nothing better to do except listen to the mind numbing slurring voice of bad-smelling, foul and disgusting men. With chained up limbs, no magic, food, water, or sleep, Ayano could certainly end up joining in on one of the pathetic conversations held within the underground pub. But, she would have to starve a few more days, she'd probably die of dehydration before_ that_ ever happened. Instead, she just made idiotic remarks and ranted now and then. Thanks to her, the men would either jeer and laugh or leave -never to return again. Some found her thoroughly entertaining, other thought she was completely irritating. At least it kept her occupied. Five days in here, wherever here was, was dull.

Midday was the slowest time of the day. People still remained scattered about the dingy tables, already drinking the hard stuff. Some where from the night before, others were the regular drunks that pretty much lived there and some of the older men where trying to get a head start on the younger drinkers that would come in later and drink them under the table. Ayano watched them, wondering about the new skill she had, unintentionally, developed. From being awake in a bar for 48 hours straight, she possessed the skill to recognise alcohol by their smells. Among the large collection of drinks, from a _1996, Chteau La mondotte Saint_ with it's fairly fruity and exotic scent to the cheap, bland taste of a convenience store's ale. There was only one drink she didn't know. It wasn't a cocktail, she had learned to recognise them too, instead it was a crystal glass with a dark, orange liquid. On the highest shelf, behind thick, bulletproof glass door, it securely sat like a pretty ornament, over powering the aesthetics of any thing else behind the bar. The beautiful, golden contents glowed and flicker like burning, amber flames. No had ever ordered it yet and she had yet to breath in its smell. Maybe it was just there to look pretty, maybe it just looked good and had no taste to it. Ayano didn't really think that was the truth, looking at it for too long must be hazardous to your health.

Ayano's normal afternoon of smelling alcohols and interfering in people's card games, was interrupted. Several larger, stronger, more serious-looking men, barged through the door and marched straight in her direction. Like sky scrapers, they towered high over her with menacing, black eyes glaring down at her like she was some little lamb with broken leg and they were a hungry pack of wolves. Then again, sniffing alcohol, no sleep, food or water, -or good company, for that matter- not affecting her seemed unlikely. Her messed up imagination was probably making them out to be more intimidating then they were. Carefully and cautiously, they unlatched the chains from the wall, and freeing Ayano in the process. The chains were the only thing holding her back, now they were taken care of, and she was getting the hell out of there.

Instantly, Ayano summoned whatever power she had left and leapt forwards. Caught by surprise, the chains slipped out of the men's hands. Ayano felt her body stagger and flail as she tried to regain her balance. Those five days had taken a toll on her and she couldn't see her balance returning to how it was. But it was enough for her to escape. Finally, she was free and going home.

Iron links rattle and clattered against the stone floor as Ayano dragged them behind her. Leaping over tables, knocking off drinks, stools and men, she barged past everything, heading straight for the open door.

Leaping from the final table, she glided through the air and through the door. Her heart was beating like a birds wings. If was as if they were flying her through the air, through the door and towards home. After almost a week, she was on her way back. Not.

A sudden pull jerked her body backwards. She was plucked out of the air and slammed down against the hard stone, knocking the air straight out of her lungs. Ayano gasped, groaned in pain and flipped her body over and onto her feet in a staggering crouch.

Grinning with a scowl, a man dressed in black with greasy black hair and a large gash across his brow, covered in stitches, stood before her. It was the guy she had head butted when he first arrived. In his hand, he rattle one of the iron chains in his hand, the one that connect to her wrist. "HEY!" Ayano snapped, staggering as she tried to straighten.

"Sorry, where you going somewhere?" His cold, hoarse voice scoffed. It was far too late to take back his words now. Thundering through the air, her fist went flying straight towards that jerk with all the energy she could muster.

Chains strained with a loud clang. Fortunately for him, her fist was stopped mid-air and only inches from his face. That didn't matter though, just the force from the blow sent him staggering back into a table. His hand reached for the table to steady himself as his head snapped back to her with a look of both fear and utter hatred. Ayano didn't disappoint him in showing the same. Her face was ragged with horror. The large men who had realised her had regain control of the chains. In surprise, the smaller man had dropped the chain and one of the stronger ones had picked it up in the ruck us. It was the only thing that had stopped her from buried his face ten inches into the far wall. Lucky for him. Unfortunately for her, she had lost her chance to escape. Her vision of home faded back into the dark, morbid reality that she would probably never see it again. Struggling was pointless. Loosing all her strength, Ayano's fist fell from the air, dropping to her side. A small smile tugged at the man's lips as he stood tall again, recovering from the shock wave of Ayano's fist. Ayano managed a final glare at the man, swearing her revenge at him, before she felt her knee's give way and her body become completely overwhelmed.

Ayano's weak knees dropped to the stone cold floor, feeling all her strength and energy drain from her body. Cold, empty tears rolled down her still eyes as she watched her surroundings fade into a featureless, depressing world. She was never going to escape. Never. She would never see their faces again. Ren. Jugo. Nanase. Yukari...Kazuma. She would never see their faces again.

What was Kazuma doing? Did he notice she was gone? Was he looking for her? A small chuckle escaped her lips. Kazuma was what comes to her mind in her moment of despair. It seemed funny. It was like she could hear his voice calling her an idiot in her mind all over again. 'Idiot.' It whispered over and over again in his sarcastic tone like a tape stuck on replay. Maybe she was being an idiot. Especially since she was stuck in the clutches of the enemy moping about him. That wasn't like her. Crying like this wasn't like her. None of this was like her. She was giving up. She never gave up. And she wouldn't let Kazuma give up. She was just being hypocritical now. She was supposed to be the next Kannagi head and she was giving up.

Suddenly, her body went stiff and she fell quiet. She stopped crying, moving and for a short time, she even felt like she had stopped breathing. After a long moment, her shoulders dropped and her body relaxed.

"Sorry, Kazuma. Seems like I'm an idiot after all." Ayano whispered, with a gentle, hoarse chuckle. Finally, she let out a sigh and struggled to her feet. Her shadowed face hid behind her deep, burning red hair as she simply stood there. For a long moment, she just...stood there. The man with the gash across his brow watched her tensely, feeling nervous and on edge, as most did when they came into contact with a mad Ayano.

Suddenly her head snapped up, her golden eyes burned with fury and anger, stared at the man. He flinched and almost toppled backwards over the stool behind him. Then it was gone. And in her eyes, you could see the vulnerable, fragile girl that she was at that moment. She wasn't despairing, she wasn't fighting, she wasn't...anything. She was completely unreadable. An emptiness across her face. Another sigh escaped her lips as she turned. The big men flinched and gripped the chain tighter on either side of her, just enough so that if she swung for any of them, the opposite chain would restrain her.

The men slowly began to put force behind the chains, tugging her body forwards and out the door. Ayano let her body be at their mercy and let herself be pulled after them, taken to wherever they needed her to go.

In all honestly, she was tired and she couldn't be bothered to participate in the whole fighting charade. With the magic blocking cuffs still attached to her wrists, chaffing her skin, she couldn't do anything. But...that didn't mean she was giving up. She realised, though she hated it, she was powerless and that was why she had felt weak. An that's why she cried. But then she realised something else. She wasn't alone. Everyone; her family, friends and Kazuma would all be out there looking for her. And right now, all she could do for them was wait. Back there, she had lost her faith. But then she realised- Kazuma made her realise, that they all had her back. And they would never give up on her. So, she wouldn't give up on them. She just, really, really wished Kazuma would get her out of here.

"Please, Kazuma...Hurry up an find me." Ayano pleaded in a whisper, as a single tear betrayed her, rolling down her cheek and trickling from her chin. _"Please."_

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**When Ayano was on the brink of despair, Kazuma appeared in her thoughts and gave her strength! But what's going to happen to her know? Where are the men taking her? Will Kazuma be able to find her before its too late? -Keep a look out and meet their mysterious foe in the next chapter. **

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**If you liked Ablaze: The Crimson Tower try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favourite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Ablaze: The Crimson Tower don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


	3. Fear

Ablaze: The Crimson Tower

Chapter 3: Fear

The soft, rooftop winds gently brushed Kazuma's face, rustling his warm, brown hair. Searching everywhere for anything: clues, hints, sightings, anything that could help him get a little closer to finding Ayano. With such an unfocused mind, it was difficult to track her, even if it was, the effort was futile. Kirika wasn't kidding when she said there were no traces left behind.

Easily irritable and confused, Kazuma needed a break. Somehow, it ended up with him sat above a small drinking saloon where he, himself, often liked to visit. Sailing through the air were just the noise of bar maids taking orders, the rattling of beer-filled pitchers and Kazuma's favourite- fights.

The peace didn't last long for the ex-Kannagi . That girl always had a way of creeping up into his thoughts, whether he liked it or not. Red, dazzling hair, deep, golden eyes and the overly hot-tempered attitude. Subconsciously, Kazuma was still somewhat connected to his surroundings as he listened to the sounds of daybreak.

"It was hilarious, she knocked him clean out!" A young voice snorted, overlapping the background noise of the crowd, enough for Kazuma to unintentionally tune in.

"Really, how?" Another male voice exclaimed, sounding both disbelieving and in awe.

"With her head!" The first man boasted. Kazuma assumed he probably followed that with big hand gestures.

"That girl outsmarted him!" The younger voice boasted with a lot of emphasis on 'him'.

"Yep, and she used her head to send him flying too."

"Wow!"

"She was all "_"Come closer"_" The man mimicked in a flirtatious tone, which didn't sound appealing to Kazuma at all. "And them BAM!" The intrigued man gasped in shock. "She head butted him. Clean knock out. He had to get stitches as well." the man laughed.

Kazuma sniggered to himself quietly. It sounded a lot like something Ayano would do, and he found that deeply amusing on some level.

"She's surely a beast!" The second man muttered, obviously surprised by the story.

Kazuma laughed again, he had heard people describe Ayano that way too.

"Not at all. She's quite a beauty." the second man chuckled darkly, in a disturbing kind of way.

Kazuma's laugh faded and once again he thought of Ayano. She was beautiful, not that she would ever take him seriously if he told her.

"Who _is_ she?" The second man whispered. Intrigued by the star character of the conversation, Kazuma was intrigued by the girl in question, so he went silent and listened.

"A Kannagi ." The first man sneered. The wind mage felt his whole body come to a complete, tensed, stiffen. He was definitely interested now. "The daughter of Jugo Kannagi , the next family head." He gave a rather forceful thump into the man's arm, which the latter should of replied with a groan, instead he stood utterly still, completely dumbfounded.

"Y-You do know that one of the Kannagi allies is Kazuma right? You know, the wind contractor!" The frozen man exclaimed, obviously stricken and frightened by the news.

"So what?" The first man shrugged in a rough roll of his shoulders. "That red-head's such an eye sore. A wild woman. Whether he's a contractor or whatever doesn't matter, She-"

Suddenly, both men were thrown against a hard stone wall, pushing them back into an alleyway by an invisible force. The two men glared at each other in shock. "Wind magic!" The taller man with chocolate brown hair and dark tanned skin, exclaimed, his body stiffening in fright. Matching the voices showed this man to be the second man in the conversation, such a high pitch voice was impossible to forget.

"No. It can't be!" The first man bellowed with a deep growl. Broad shoulders and a fairly short and stable build. Jet black hair and ivory skin. This was the man that was talking about her. Deep, green eyes were staring in disbelief as a dark silhouette cut the fading moonlight from leaking through the gap.

"Talking about me?" Kazuma smiled with a sinister grin. His dark silhouette transformed into a slender man with soft brown, spiky hair and piercing chocolate eyes. Moon light shone upon his finger, lining him with sharp, white edges. It's white glow gave the wind mage the look of a ghost, an a very, very mad one.

"Kazuma!" The smaller man gasped. Kazuma raised an eye brow at the man in a playful arch.

"I distinctly heard you talking about a loud-mouthed, violent, red-headed Kannagi girl. The next head of the family, you said." The wind mage hummed, leaning in close to the face of the dark-haired man with his palm spread firmly on the wall next to his face. His voice turned into a threatening growl, sharp and deadly, leaving no room for dishonesty. "Where is she?"

As they lead her down into the labyrinth of corridors and up several sets of stairs, then down a few, they arrived outside a plain door. The walls either side were decorated with a small, icy-blue dragon with tear shaped scales, crawling up the pure white, silk of the banner. It was the same symbol that most of the men wore on the left chest of their black clothes. Strange...it seemed vaguely familiar. She was given a hesitant shove through the door when she realised that she had stopped.

Ayano stumbled forward and fell to her knees. Seizing the moment, the two men pushed down with one hand on each of her shoulders, tightening the chains, pulling them up high. The Kannagi girls arm bent back and her head bowed, forced to look at the grazes on her knees. The hand clamped on her neck felt sweaty and stiff, and it flicked as Ayano let out a low growl. They held her two ankle chains short and tense as her arm chains were being dealt with somehow. Ayano couldn't see past her veil of red hair falling over her face, but she could hear them jingling the chains around. They were doing something...

A loud clang made her body flinch. Shortly afterwards, the small, constant and rhythmic ticking of the chains confused her, in a bad way. Slowly, the men released their grip, turning back, except the one holding her head down. More jingling was made and another loud clang was made, followed by the ticking. Finally, the man pinning her head let go and made a hasty retreat back to the sidelines before Ayano could make a jump on him. Ayano felt the slack of the chains recline, getting tighter and tighter.

Slowly, the cuffs began to pick up her arms, lifting their dead weight high up. As her arms rose, her body lifted with it, higher and higher into the air. Ayano lifted her body up, onto her knees then to her feet, trying to support the weight on her legs and not on her arms. Soon, they pulled too tight and her body lifted from the ground. Her legs pulled apart as the chains dragged them in opposite directions, same with her hands. Eventually, she was chained to the roof and the floor, in diagonal directions, holding her body mid air. Restrain to the maximum it was almost impossible to move except the slight swaying she caused when her hips rocked. But, now matter how hard Ayano struggled, she couldn't pull loose. Not even by a millimetre. Being pulled tight at the ankles and wrist, high of the floor, gave the red haired girl a burning, horrifying sense of vulnerability. She felt exposed, open and scared. Very, very scared.

Then she noticed him. A tall shady figure, turned away from her and masked by the long shadow of the early morning sun, stood in front of her. Being in such a bare room with just some metal contraptions holding her place, a white banner with a blue dragon on the wall behind. and him, didn't make her feel that he was here to help her, quite the opposite in fact. Dressed in a dark black kimono with a white dragon crawling up his back, and white, ageing hair spilling over his shoulders. As he turned to face her, black menacing eyes glared at the girl with a shocking, spine tingling coldness. Ayano quickly returned the intense stare, trying to mimic his icy glare, burning into the core of her strength. The room felt like it quivered, as the stare lingered. Ayano felt herself slowly being sucked into the black abyss of his eyes before she felt her eyes snap away, and the strange pull die. The man seemed satisfied, but he kept his straight face stiff with an over toning deadliness, over his calm posture. "Hello Ayano." A crisp, cold voice hummed from his thin lips, laced in malice.

The mid lit room seemed too normally, causing Ayano to feeling even more unease. A glimpse of reflected light, flickered in the corner of her eye and her head snapped to the dark, corner of the room. All she was able to see through the dark was a slender silhouette and the faint gleam of glasses, reflecting the light and seeming as threatening as knives. It felt strange, but Ayano had the thought that, that was what he was allowing her to see, and just that thought was scary enough.

"Who are you?" she growled in reply, snapping her head quickly away from him to the less threatening man in front of her, but he was still plenty threatening enough to cause fear to multiply inside her.

"You don't know?" he sounded offended, and even staggered back a step, chocking with his hand over his heart like she'd shot him through the chest. She really wished she could. He recovered his composer and his face turned sharp. "Surely you've heard of us?"

"That still doesn't answer my question." Ayano retorted, trying to keep the underlying fear in her voice hidden. She felt a spike in the air fill with irritation, and Ayano felt the odd need to raise it. Probably not her best idea, but she had to do whatever she could to delay it and buy time for a rescue. Kazuma better not be late.

"In that case, I apologise. I am Hiro, head of the Konishi family." Hiro wrapped an arms over his stomach and bowed formally, lowering his head to her.

"Never head of you." The Kannagi girl snapped back, aiming to offend. It worked. Another notch added to the atmosphere's building rate.

"Of course not. The brilliant Kannagi family would never have heard of the mere Konishi family." Hiro sighed solemnly but still managed to spit as much bitterness and resentment into his voice, giving Ayano a hint to the reason why she was there.

"Why should we have?" Ayano wasn't holding back any more, hitting him with insulting words as soon as he finished seemed to have raised her fighting spirit back from the dead, if spirits could die that was.

"You are definitely a Kannagi ." he laughed, and Ayano felt a strange feeling of pride and took it as a complement, though she didn't think he intended it as one. "We are the strongest water user family." he followed on to proclaimed.

"Water users?" Ayano repeated, she hadn't really heard much about water users before. Wind and Earth users, yeah, but water users were a whole, unfamiliar topic for her.

"Yes. Our magic helped develop the cuffs you are so kindly show casing for us." Hiro pointed vaguely with his palm at the cuffs around her wrists and ankles, the anti-magic ones. For some reason that send a full shock of fear to run down her spine.

"Why do you need me?" Ayano snapped, before she found herself listening on to some boring explanation.

"The Kannagi family have the title of the strongest magic users over all types." Hiro sourly replied, watching all the muscles in his palm tighten.

"Of course." Ayano off-handedly replied. Hiro's hand flinched, and instead of feeling proud to have got him, Ayano felt nervous. His hands snapped back into a clenched fist, waited in the air for a moment and dropped to his side.

"Anyway..." he carried on, resisting the urge to glare at Ayano. "We, the Konishi family, aim to e the best magic users-" Ayano let out a small burst of laughter, mockingly. Hiro clenched his teeth, and carried on.

"To accomplish this, we will destroy the Kannagi family." Hiro declared with a horrible sense of delight.

"Oh yeah." Ayano sarcastically agreed. "And how will you do that?" the girl asked, being as snarky are possible. The cocky game of insults began to actually entertain her, and take her mind off the heavy, sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Kill you all." his voice relished the words as they rolled of his tongue, short and snappy. The game had ended there. 6 points Ayano, 7 points scary water head. Killing the Kannagi 's? All of the them? Could he do that? Hiro caught sight of the dawning look of her face, as the colour drained from her skin into a shocking white. "And so..." he smiled, dampening his old, cracked lips. "This brings us to today's business."

"T-Today's business?" Ayano chocked, become suddenly aware of the lump forming in her throat. She had tried so hard so sound strong, she felt it at some points, and now just as her voice had betrayed her and shown, she was scared and it suddenly felt overwhelming.

Ayano's eyes were fixed on the man in fright, watching his every move with edge. Hiro's hand slipped into the fabric of his kimono and pulled out a thin, smooth sword. With a white, dragon running smoothly from the icy blue hilt, onto the silver metal, entwining down, engraved into the words of the swords. It was amazing, and that made it even more completely and utterly, frightening.

Alight with excitement, Hiro took a small step forward, and the sword extended from his arm. Gently, Hiro let the blade rest on her shoulder, and graze the chilling metal graze across the nape of her neck. Ayano felt her skin itch as the sound of the smooth silver draw across her skin.

Suddenly, the sword jerked away at the loud crashing, banging and screams that rattled through the hallway outside. "What the hell is that?" Hiro exclaimed as the ruck us increased. The door slid open with a bang, showing a thin man in the usual get up of black, heaving for air in the doorway. Dark blond hair spiralled down his face in a messed up odd way, spiking up in random directions. It didn't look like he tried to style it that way.

"There's- It's" the man gasped, green eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.

"Out with it!" the head Konishi snapped, the sword's tip dropping to the floor and easily slicing through the wood like butter.

"It's the wind contractor! He's smashing up the place!" the man coughed.

Mid-cough, a rush of wind picked up the man, dragging off into the hallway. Where he stood, a man with brown hair and eyes, with his hands stuffed in his dark trouser pockets was looking absolutely furious and completely cool.

"Kazuma!" Ayano yelled, feeling all the weight in her stomach lift and disappear. She almost felt dizzy as the wave of relief radiated through her body. He had come... _He had come for her! He really came!_

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**Ayano's discovered the formidable Konishi family head is behind her kidnapping, and why he did it. Is he really going to kill all the Kannagi 's? But finally, Kazuma staged his rescue, come to Ayano's side. Will Kazuma be able to defeat the Konishi's? -Find out in the next chapter...**

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**If you liked Ablaze: The Crimson Tower try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favourite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more Ablaze: The Crimson Tower don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


	4. Burn

**Woo! Final chapter of The Crimson Tower, which concluded Ablaze Part I. Thank you to those who supported me and gave me advice in the reviews and to those who followed and Favorited. Enjoy!**

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Ablaze: The Crimson Tower

Chapter 4; Burn

"Oh, Hey Ayano. Didn't see you there." The wind user teased. Ayano let out a weak laugh, feeling weak herself as all her muscles unwound and relaxed. She didn't realise how tensed she was.

"Did you really have to knock down half of the building?" Ayano sarcastically moaned, in almost a whisper, still recovering from the tackle of relief.

"Hey! Don't complain when I come and rescue you." Kazuma snapped back, giving her that heart-throbbing smile that always made her blush. Today was no different. Hidden under that heart-breaker face, she could see the same relief she had felt, rushing over him.

"Fine. Whatever. Just hurry up and- KAZUMA!" Ayano yelled. To Kazuma's surprise, his arms were dragged behind him and black iron cuffs clasped onto his wrist in almost a split-second. A slender man with sharp glasses and long, ice-blond hair tied back in a pony tail, stood behind the ex-Kannagi. "What the- Where the hell did you come from?" Kazuma exclaimed, jingling his wrists and glaring at them with distaste. " ." he sneered with annoyance, laced with a tiresome undertone.

"Not just any cuffs." Ayano groaned. "Magic blocking cuffs." she exclaimed with sarcastic and obviously fake enthusiasm.

"What?" Kazuma scowled, looking back at his wrists.

"Yup. Thanks for rescuing me, Kazuma." Ayano replied.

"Shut up. Why the hell did you end up in this mess anyway?" Kazuma retorted.

"Hey! It wasn't _my_ fault I ended up here!" Ayano snapped, on the defensive.

"Yeah, I know._ You were kidnapped!_" Kazuma sighed, with an awkward pout on his lips that made him seem kind of cute.

"Don't say it like that!" Ayano snapped, her voice showed her offence, as well as her eyes showing the shock and turning into a long, hard glare.

"Like what?" Kazuma replied irritably, now it was his turn on the defence.

"Like it's my fault."

"I didn't say it was!" Kazuma tried, and was falling to defend himself at Ayano.

"Kazuma!" Ayano snapped.

"Ayano!" Kazuma replied in the same, frustrated tone.

"Shut up!" Hiro exclaimed. Soundlessly, the mysterious man, unsheathed a long, golden-hilted kitana concealed on his belt. The back of the sword swung down and clubbed Kazuma on the back of his head. Kazuma dropped to his knee's, then onto the floor, his head hit with a loud bang making Ayano wince.

"KAZUMA!" Ayano exclaimed in shock.

"Urgh!, Damn that hurt!" The wind user grumbled, moving his body, inches at a time in jerky movements.

Swiftly the mysterious man, took the chained links to Kazuma's cuffs and connected them to a small metal pole, sticking randomly up from the ground in the corner of the room, far out of Ayano's reach.

"You really are a nuisance." Hiro scoffed, bearing his teeth at the wind mage, cornered and even further out of his reach than Ayano.

"Tsk." The ex-Kannagi scowled. A long, exaggerated and dramatic sigh escaped the old man's lips.

"Now..." he glanced around, his glare lingering on Kazuma."Where were we?"

"That's something I'd like to know." Ayano muttered accidentally. Kazuma let out a small scoff of laughter and Ayano felt her smile twitch.

"Now I remember." He snarled. The man with the blonde ponytail, and glasses held out a long, cylinder tube filled with what looked like, translucent, clear water, than almost sparkled as the morning sun skimmed it's surface. The man placed in down next to the Konishi head with ease though it looked like it weighed a lot more than it seemed. "This, is fro the holy lake of the Konishi's. It was where the original Konishi head made a contract with the water spirit." It has...special magical properties." Hiro gleamed, as he he lowered the silver tip of the blade into the still surface of the water. It didn't even ripple, which Ayano found especially weird. But it did ripple, except, it wasn't the water that did. The ripple she spoke of, travelled up the sword, distorting the dragon engraving as it moved up towards the hilt where it died.

Suddenly, the water began to move, crawling up the face of the blade, coating it in a sheath of icy water. Frighteningly, the dragon began to shift, stretching and curling, causing Ayano to let out a startled squeal. Ayano watched the dragon absorb the water in to it's skin. Fidgeting and coiling, the dragon edged with anxiousness up the blade and closer, to her. A crooked smile on the old man's lips gave Ayano the last push and the fear overwhelmed her in seconds. She felt her whole body shake, her eyes bulge and her mouth dry as her heart raced inside her, pounding around the cold blood through her veins.

"What the hell is that?" Kazuma growled, watching it with the most threatening glare he could.

"This...is the sacred Konishi sword." Twirling the sword in his hand, his eyes gazed over it with a disturbing admiration. "This sword will assist in the end of the Kannagi lines." Kazuma eyes didn't flinch, but his stomach knotted in shock. His cold eyes glanced back and forth between the sword and the restrained Kannagi girl. Then it hit him. His eyes lingered on her, watching the girl's body shake the chains. He must have already told her about his plans because she didn't seem shocked, in fact, she didn't seem much of anything. Kazuma would of assumed she was in shock, but, in her deep golden eyes, a sadness wallow, letting silent tears roll endlessly down her colour-drained cheeks. There was one thing that Kazuma thought he would never see, and that, was Ayano's tears. Even though her face showed indifference, the tears didn't stop falling. That was when Kazuma realised that she wasn't in shock, instead, she was being strong. She trying her best to act as tough as she could, even though you could hear the small sound of her heart cracking. Golden eyes swung forward in a sharp, cold glare and held it as the head Konishi approached.

"Now, child, you will be the first of many to die for the Konishi cause, as many did for the Kannagi." Hiro proclaimed, letting the cool edge of the sword grazed across Ayano's neck.

"No. Ayano!" Kazuma bellowed, struggling against his chains in panic.

"There's no use in struggling Kazuma; It's futile." Ayano's voice barely raised above a whisper. Slowly, the sword departed from her neck and rose high over the old man's grey head. In a disturbing illusion, the dragon looked like it towered taller than any being, jittering with excitement. Not relinquishing her stare yet, the young, red-head girl, stare stilled on the man's scornful eyes, blinded by resentment. The sword plummeted through the air, effortlessly. Golden, beautiful eyes fell shut for the last time as the metal swung down on her neck. She didn't even flinch.

"AYANO!" Kazuma screamed at the top of his lungs. Scrunching his eyes closed in grimace, Kazuma felt his body collapse to the floor in shock as silence warped over the room.

_'She's dead. dead. dead. She's dead.'_ muttered repetitively, over and over again in Kazuma's mind as his blank face fell into his palms. Darkness blinded his sight from his closed lids as the world rocked back and forth, left and right, making his balance go AWOL.

Suddenly, something startled him, dragging him back out of his wallowing despair. Shooting open, his eyes jumped to the floor in front of him. The sword rattled as it clattered against the wooden floor, piercing through the thick skin of silence. Charcoal black burns ran up through the dragon, staining its every scale a menacing, crisp black, creeping further up the sword.

Kazuma's deep brown eyes, cautiously rolled up to the hanging, limp body from the wall. Ayano was...fine? Her eyes were closed and hidden behind a veil of hot red hair, and her cheeks were still stained with tear tracks, but she was okay. What happened? Kazuma watched the calm girl intensely, almost burning holes straight through her.

His body wound up so tense, that he flinched as her body twitched, quietly rattling the chains. "Ayano." Kazuma whispered, attempting to scramble closer, but was jerked to a stop by the chains behind him. Kazuma ignored them and lent his body closer, trying to see past her curtain of red.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, her body twisting up tensely and stiff. Her golden eyes had shifted into a burning red that glowed like a dying star. Red flames began to rise from the ground, whipping around her in a circle, slowly engulfing her. It burst upwards, disintegrating anything in its way, into a tower of red fire. As the fire flickered, Kazuma saw the chains crumble like they were delicate and fragile things, into a pile of black ash that was carried up and up, into the rising tower that drove up, past the sight of his eyes.

In a desperate attempt to flee, the Konishi head spun of his heals and ran, his face slowly slipping out of colour into a pastel white. The house began to corrode and burn as the crimson flames ate away at the rest of the wood and frame of the house. As Kazuma looked around, the mysterious glasses figure had made himself disappear without a sound. Burning blue flames, hinted with pink ignited around Kazuma's wrists, gnawing away at the chains that bound him. The chains began to bend and disfigure, as the flame rose in temperature. Steel chains turned into a thick, black liquid as it ran from Kazuma's thick wrists, dripping into a amber, bubbling pool, burning through the floor. No heat had touched or burned him as the flames died. There was no mistaking it. It was the God's flame. But only his father had mastered it. Ayano certainly hadn't.

The sky rumbled with thunder and sparked with lightening as dark clouds clotted around the towering flames, tinting red in it's radiance. Kazuma's eyes focused back on the burning flames coiling around Ayano. It wasn't just the crimson flame, there were others. Blue, black, green, white, yellow, orange, all colours swirling magnificently around her, tinting the shade of red that burned the brightest, almost masking the other flames. Kazuma watch in awe. Ayano was so strong, so powerful, exploding with magic he had never seen before. A cold, chilling feeling rose up through his spine, making him feel nauseous inside at the sight of her before him. Maybe awe wasn't the only emotion he was feeling. But, the worst thing he felt, was the aching feeling of his heart when he looked, truly looked, at Ayano's eyes. They didn't look hard and mean, when she glared at her enemy, they didn't look stupendous and embarrassed like when he teased her, and they didn't look soft and gentle as when she spoke. They were empty, vacant, distant, as if she was looking into an abyss of nothing. Indifferent, and emotionless was how her expression remained, as she watched the flames burn and destroy. The flames had burnt the world around her to a crisp, and remained to do so as they didn't show any mercy, chasing men and burning the fallen ones. It was getting out of hand. Ayano wouldn't do that, she was on the break of murder, and she remained still, just watching the building come down in flames.

"AYANO!" Kazuma called over the crackling rumble of the fire. "AYANO!" He bellowed again. It was like he wasn't there. She didn't flinch, budge or even glance his way. It was impossible and she wasn't listening to him. Kazuma quickly gathered up a charge of wind and tried to die out the fire. It didn't work. The flames were acting like a vacuum, pulling the air out in a suffocating pull, up into the tornado of flames. The flames combusted and glowed a little bright, sparking out in every direction. Kazuma covered his face with his arm as a stray black flame shot towards him. It snaked through the air and missed him, then whirled back and joined in with the column of fire. "AYANO!" Kazuma tried to scream louder. Nothing. "Ayano." he muttered, feeling his ache and pine for her to just turn and look at him with her normal, bright eyes. Kazuma took in a deep breath and closed his eyes.

After a few seconds, they snapped open, glowing a vibrant, shimmering blue, marking himself as the contractor. "STOP!" he bellowed, summoning a gale of wind, swirling around his body, and let it lash forwards and collide against the Ayano's tunnel of flames.

Suddenly, Ayano's face snapped towards him, glaring at his desperate expression.

"Kazuma." her voice whispered, her eyes flickering and fading back to their normal golden yellow.

With in seconds, the tower of flames began to falter, and dispersed into the heated atmosphere. Slowly, a charred, burnt and almost completely ruined, wreckage of what was a house, was left over. Ayano's body swayed as her eyes flickered opened and closed.

"Ayano?" the wind user muttered softly, taking a step towards her and feeling the weak, burnt floor moan underneath him.

Legs buckling, Ayano fell to the floor, her red hair sailing through the air behind her. A quick gust of gentle wind swept underneath her, as Kazuma rushed to her side. The wind settled her softly onto the ground, sweeping aside the piles of ash and debris. He slipped a hand under her knees and around her back, pulling her up and into his arms. She had fallen unconscious. It was predictable after exerting that mass of power.

The sky roared and realised a instant down pour of rain, sending black clouds of smoke high into the atmosphere.

Kazuma readjusted Ayano's body so her head laid against the nape of her neck, and her breath was gentle and slow, brushing against his collar bone. Across her neck, the contractor noticed a long, deep gash ran from the side of her neck, and reached down to her collar bone. Red washed away with the rain over her wet clothes and down into the puddles at the wind user's feet."Idiot." he huffed, brushing his chin over her smooth, red hair as he walked through the dead garden, burnt to a crisp and flooding with puddles.

Kannagi's filed in the front street, with big black cars, and what seemed like an army. Kazuma had the common sense to alert Jugo whilst on his pursuit. Luckily, the ex-Kannagi had ignored the head's suggestion to wait for all the family before going in, or else Ayano might have been killed, not that he staged much of a rescue. Besides, he hated large groups.

Kazuma, holding the limp Ayano, was greeted by Jugo and Ren. They both gasped as they caught sight of the girl in his arms, clothes covered in diluted red stains. "It's okay; She's alive." Kazuma reassured them before they could spit-fire any questions at him. Even though blood still ran from her wound, he could still feel her weak pulse against the skin of his neck touching hers.

Two Kannagi's dressed in blue jump suits and white lab coats leapt forward, stealing the girl from his arms, laying her on a stretcher and rushing her into the back of a black van, before it rushed away down the street.

"The Kannagi doctors will look after her now." Jugo sounded exhausted, as his eyes watched the van disappear out of sight with a hard, set expression before he turned back to Kazuma.

"Jugo-" Kazuma began before the head cut him off quickly.

"We can talk later, at home." Jugo stopped him, sending him a sharp warning glare.

The wind user nodded, and turned to see Ren with his jaw almost touching the floor. Wet, blonde hair glued to his face as he gawked at the house in ruins, puffing up smoke like a train. Some parts of the building were beginning to collapse in on itself because of its instability.

"It's been completely incinerated!" Ren exclaimed. "Was it that massive beam of red light? It looked like the divine flame. You could see it from the other side of town, what was it?" Ren asked, now turned to Kazuma with burning curiosity.

"I'm not sure. There was an explosion and then that light suddenly appeared." Kazuma vaguely lied, knowing that even if he tried, he wouldn't be able to explain what had happen, not yet anyway.

"Wow." Ren sighed, turning back to look over it again.

"Let's go, Ren. Leave the other to deal with it." Kazuma suggested, leading the boy away with his hand on his shoulder as other Kannagi's, dressed in black and looking very suspicious, began to file onto the land with black briefcases.

Later that day, the sun had ended and the moon shone brightly in the dark sky. Kazuma had finished giving the very detailed, verbal and top-secret report on today's events.

"Magic blocking." Jugo pondered.

"They use water magic somehow." the wind mage added.

"Those Konishi might be a problem, even the sword surprised me. I know of the Konishi family's power, but to get their hands on the water dragon sword is quite the feat." Jugo perplexed, pacing up and down the room which was strange thing for Kazuma to see.

"I don't think we've seen the end of the Konishi's. They seemed very intent on killing you lot off, starting with Ayano." Kazuma growled, readjusting his posture against the wall, arms folded against his chest and his jaw set in a hard expression of discontent.

"Yes." Jugo answered absent mindedly, then began reciting something that sounded like it was out of a book. "In history, families would destroy other rivalled families, always starting with the heir to the head and so on."

"Great." Kazuma huffed sarcastically, big brown eyes staring solemnly out of the doorway.

"Ayano has always been special." Jugo randomly stated allowed. He had changed subject when Kazuma tried to get to a deeper meaning and had given up asking about an hour ago, so the Kannagi's statement surprised him. "When she was born, she had a high level of magic. We knew about that, of course. But to see it progress this far concerns me." Jugo stopped pacing and sat down tiredly on his seat in front of the Kannagi banner.

"She's able to use the divine flame, but not consciously." Kazuma added, taking up a seat near him.

"Yes, that's true." Jugo agreed, obviously in deep thought as he looked at his aged, and lined hands.

"But, the fire in there was different. It wasn't just the divine flame -yes it overpowered them- but there were all type of flames blended in with it; the purification, the god's flame, the divine flame, even some I'd never seen or heard of before; Black, green, white, orange flames. She was even able to completely control the God's flame. Those magic chains didn't even work on her, when I couldn't even use my contractor magic!" Kazuma ranted, throwing small but sharp and frustrated gestures. "But," Kazuma's body softened and his hands dropped down onto his lap. "Her face was empty, she just...watched as the flames burned like she didn't even care." Kazuma's fist balled into a fist on his knee and he watched as his knuckles turned white before he stiffly and forcefully open it up again.

"I see." Jugo muttered, stroking a finger against his jaw line, as he often did when he picked at an idea.

"What is it?" Kazuma snapped eagerly, ignoring his hand.

"Once, there was a Kannagi with such power. Only one." Jugo spoke softly, contemplating his words as he spoke them.

"Who?" Kazuma probed.

"The Original." Jugo bluntly answered. Kazuma's brain paused for a moment, considering what he said before he slowly began to infer.

"As in, the first Kannagi. the one who possessed the magic of the fire spirit, the first contractor, the reason why you all have your power." Kazuma replied, trying to pick out what he remembered from his old Kannagi lessons from years ago.

"Yes, but even he was unable to control all the different flames he was given."

"So, What does that mean for Ayano?" Kazuma added, feeling a little hesitant that he should have asked.

Jugo spoke in barely a whisper, as if he was unable to comprehend the words as he spoke them. "Ayano has the _pure_ power of the fire spirit."

Kazuma gasped. "What?"

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**So, Ayano has the power of the fire spirit that only the first Kannagi ever possessed. Why does Ayano have it? How will she use it? And who else wants it? -Find out in Ablaze II**

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**Well that's the end for the Crimson Tower. I thought I would separate this story into sequels, but instead I'm just going to separate it into parts on the same story. So look out for part 2 of Ablaze. I hoped you liked part one. I had fun writing it. :)**

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**If you liked Ablaze: The Crimson Tower try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favourite and recommend to others.**

**If you want to find out what happens next in Ablaze II don't forget to follow! Love you guys.**

**-A-ccentric**


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